A Matter of Character
by cw151
Summary: A one-shot of an encounter between Peggy, Daniel, and Jack, two weeks after the Roxxon accident, with Daniel thinking a lot.


Daniel headed across the empty office towards his bureau. It was past eight in the evening, and as usual in the last two weeks since Peggy's fall at Roxxon and the dissolution of his engagement, he'd decided to do some work instead of sulking at home. Not that anyone knew that he and Violet had broken up. He really didn't want to face the questioning from all sides that would have followed, least of all the questioning from Peggy, who, he was sure, would blame the break-up on her having to get fixed up by Violet and as a result, bringing the horror of their work into Violet's quaint and peaceful home.

Daniel still felt sick to his stomach when he thought back to that night. The fear of losing Peggy, followed by the realization of how much he'd hurt Violet with his actions. It really had been one of the biggest, egotistical mistakes he'd ever made in his life, and he didn't think that he'd ever be able to forgive himself for it. Violet was one of the sweetest, caring women he'd ever known, and he'd treated her abominably. His stomach quenched when he thought back to the last conversation they'd had.

 _"I think you're in love with her. Aren't you, Daniel?"_

 _Daniel's eyes darted towards the sofa where Peggy had been saved just a few minutes earlier._

 _"I like her as a friend, yes, but I..." he began, but was immediately cut short by Violet's angry voice._

 _"No, don't you dare lie to me, Daniel. Don't you dare!" Violet closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her voice broke._

 _"I spent six months in an ER as part of my training. I know exactly what it looks like when someone fears for the life of a loved one. Not just a friend, a loved one."_

 _Daniel didn't reply, and just stared back at the sofa._

 _"And I will NOT be someone's second choice for a wife, do you hear me? I love you, but I won't be the substitute. I want someone who wants only me and no one else. I_ deserve _someone who wants only me," Violet continued angrily._

 _Daniel sighed dejectedly. She was right, of course, and he really had nothing to say for himself._

 _"You're right. I'm really sorry," he said with a miserable look on his face._

 _"Yeah, you should be. I mean, why did you even date me when you knew that you didn't love me, at least not as much as Peggy? Why did you even propose to me? What if tonight wouldn't have happened, and I'd have married you, thinking you truly wanted me? Did you even think about that? I feel horrible now, but how bad would it have been if I'd have found out after we were married?" Violet's eyes started to glisten with tears._

 _Daniel just opened and closed his mouth without a sound. Shame, despair and boiling hot contrition obscured his senses and made him feel hot and somehow disembodied._

 _Violet pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her eyes._

 _"I really don't get it, Daniel. You're a good guy. Why would you pull something like that?" she asked, sobbing lightly._

Daniel had had no an answer to give at that point, and he still had none today. So he worked, in hopes of solving the Whitney Frost case as quickly as possible, and of having some time to think afterwards.

As he neared his office, he could see that it was lit up, and Peggy's unmistakable shadow appeared in the rectangle of light on the floor in front of the open office door. Daniel slowed down a bit, and stopped completely when he heard Jack Thompson's voice. Apparently, that pompous douche was back.

"… real happy for Daniel getting engaged. You know that I thought for the longest time that he had a thing for you? A nurse is probably much better, though, given his condition," he heard Jack say loudly. Daniel set his jaw and rolled his eyes. Leave it to Thompson to embarrass him and put him down even when he wasn't there.

"And what condition is that, exactly?" Peggy said, in a cold, clipped tone.

"Oh, come on, you know. His _leg._ It's kind of tough to handle for women if they don't see something like that on a daily basis. Which woman would want a cripple for a husband? But a nurse is good, she's used to it," came Jack's infuriating reply.

Daniel was about to storm in there and give Jack a piece of his mind when Peggy's clipped voice sounded once again.

"I'm not quite sure how low your opinion of us is exactly, Chief Thompson, but I can assure you that women can easily handle men of any kind, whole or not. And many women, nurses or not, would be happy to have a veteran like Chief Sousa as a husband, because _they_ can see his injury for what it is – and that is _not_ being crippling."

"Is that so? Enlighten me, then. What do women see in Sousa's peg leg?" Jack sneered. Daniel knew that he really should go in there, or at least stop listening, but it felt as if he were glued to the spot.

"A man who is a fighter. A man who has risked his life for the common good, and who has not given up fighting just because he was injured. A man who is facing great odds on a daily basis, from every possible angle of his life, and who still maintains his sense of humor and convictions. A man you can trust in and rely on, and a man who will just not give up, no matter how high the risks," Peggy declared passionately.

At her speech, a mixture of elevation and grave guilt cursed through Daniel as his heart beat faster. While he was happy to hear that Peggy didn't think that his leg made him any less of a man, he wasn't sure if he deserved her praise of character any more after the events of the last few weeks.

"A man who will not give up? Are you sure about that? Because I'm pretty damn certain that Violet girl is just a stand-in for - " Jack's amused retort was interrupted by Daniel, who'd decided to hastily make an entrance when Jack had started speaking again.

"Last time I checked, this was my office," he said to Jack, who was once again sitting in Daniel's chair, his feet propped up on the desk. Daniel shot Peggy a quick smile, which she warmly returned.

"What are you doing here, Chief Thompson?" Listening to Jack's comments earlier didn't quite allow Daniel to be as polite as he probably should have been.

"Trying to make you understand, _once again_ , that you're getting yourselves in tons of trouble," Jack replied. "This case is much bigger than either of you two can understand, and I have it on good authority that soon, it won't be your case anymore. And then, Marge, you can finally get off your fake vacation and go back to your actual work at the SSR."

"At your office? You mean filing and fetching coffee when you're not interrupting my interrogations? No, thank you. I will stay on this case as long as I can, and even after that, I will not rest until it is properly and duly closed," Peggy shot back. "But I don't expect _you_ to understand that, Chief Thompson."

"You know that you don't have to file or fetch coffee anymore. And you can go back to interrogating Dottie, if you miss her so much, don't worry," Jack replied as he folded his hands across his stomach. Peggy raised her eyebrows.

"So that's what this is about. You're not getting anything from her," Peggy said triumphantly.

Jack frowned. "What? Of course not. I'm just here to warn you guys because…"

"Chief Thompson, let me be perfectly clear. Neither Chief Sousa nor I are going anywhere. If you need assistance with interrogating Dottie, I suggest that you have her sent over here and I'll talk to her, but other than that, I'm busy and will continue to be busy for quite a while," Peggy stated resolutely. She turned to Daniel.

"Speaking of which, I have a very important meeting with Mr Jarvis to attend. Chief Sousa, could you please accompany me? I believe you'll find it very important for solving our case."

Daniel tried to not let his surprise show.

"Sure, no problem," he said lamely. If he was faced with the choice of Thompson and Peggy, there wasn't really a choice in the first place.

"Marvelous. Good night, Chief Thompson!" Peggy finished as she pulled Daniel with her.

"What's the meeting about?" Daniel asked in the elevator down.

"Dinner," Peggy replied with a wide smile. "I believe we both deserve some, and Mr Jarvis is making beef roast tonight. Why, do you have plans with Violet? Given that you came to the office I assumed –"

"No, no plans. Dinner sounds great," Daniel replied quickly.

Maybe, just maybe, he could find a way out of this mess. He just hoped that it would somehow end well.


End file.
